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Frank's new bass

#21
The bass is looking great. It looks like maybe you made it thin to counter any zebra/purpleheart weight issues?




Also, what is the board at the top in this pic? It looks like "ash gone wild"!
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#24
Well, its been a while. Finally got around to getting some work done. I built wenge/bubinga pickup covers for the big splits we ordered. I routed the body today. Next up is the bridge, should be simple. Frank has a show booked in March near MonteVideo in Uraguay and I think Ill go with him. hehehe

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#25
I strung her up yesterday, im almost done the bridge, its a lot easier like this, I dont have those retaining walls on each sides of the saddles. I just routed out a 1/4" groove into the body and slipped the piece of wenge into it (the one with the intonation screws) I would have thought the saddles could have moved a little, meesing up the string spacing, but with almost no tension on the strings (explains the bad break point) they dont seem to budge at all, perhaps the set screws keep em in place. still need to sand it down and adjsut a few minor things. We should be getting the big splits and the OBP3 this week, along with the tuners so this one will near completion. Peace out and thanks for lookin !

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#26
I have no idea what the hell is up with my camera... can't get a decent pic. I tried making knobs today with a simple hole saw. Then sanded it right on the drill without the bell or whatever else you may call it. The pilot bit is 1/4 so itll be perfect for the shafts of the pots, i'll add a a small set screw once I trim the knob down to proper length.

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#28
sonic assassin said:
how much would i have to pay you to make a bass for me? this this is ******** beautiful.

id conceive a child and sell it on the black market to own a bass of this quality.
Click to expand...

hahaha, wow that is flattering. If you're serious, PM me, surprisingly not that much. Despite the fact that I strive to learn as much as I can to make my instruments better and better, im still beginning and very few know me or have tried my basses. I take a lot of time to make one bass and I dont believe that has to be the customers problem (financially speaking) as I take on more experience it takes less time to build, therefor a better hourly rate for myself (haha @ 6$/h.)
 
#37
A little update, I put on the last coat of Polyurethane yesterday, she is now peacefully drying at the shop. It makes me nervous like hell leaving my instruments there... I actually had trouble falling asleep last night, I should have just went there, get drunk, dance a little around the bass and fall asleep under it... Ill keep that for another time. My camera is gone to hell so I havent been able to take pics of the process but ill post some later on tonight.
There will be no Extender on this bass after all, it just doesnt fit at all on my small headstock. We will order another ultralite and keep it simple. Also, there was a misunderstanding when ordering the pickups, we got the big splits with the covers instead of just the bobbins, so the bubinga covers I made will not be used. I wanted to do rings around the pups but Frank doesnt like the exposed poles and the plastic... what do you think? So today Ill make new covers out of bloodwood, they will sit on the top of the bass since they got to be a little bigger now... no biggie. Pics tonight guys. Peace
 
#38
Some good progress done today. I started the day by taking another look at those pickups (Nordstrand Big Splits) and I got a spark of genius, I cut off the excess flatwork on the bobbin ends and put the pups in the covers I had initially built. I didnt like the holes I had drilled so I decided to replace the tops, instead of bubinga its bloodwood now. I still need to sand them flush with the magnets, however I kinda like it with the poles recessed a bit. I sanded down my brass rod and cut both Frank and Harley's nuts, yep thats right, I worked on your nuts today guys. Sorry, its been a long week. I should be done this bass by next weekend.

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Thanks guys ! Peace

-Mario-
 

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